A variety of systems are used for deploying equipment used in the production of fluids, such as oil, from producing wells. For example, tubing has commonly been used for the deployment of downhole equipment. Electric submergible pumping systems, for instance, may be deployed by appropriate deployment tubing to a desired location within a wellbore. Depending on the application, the production fluid is produced either through the center of the tubing or through the annulus formed between the tubing and the wellbore casing.
When deploying systems, such as electric submergible pumping systems, it is necessary to provide power to the system. Accordingly, a power cable is connected between a power supply at the surface and a submergible electric motor of the electric submergible pumping system. The power cable generally is either tied to the outside of the tubing or routed through the center of the tubing. For example, if the production fluid is produced through the annulus formed around the deployment tubing, it is convenient to provide power cable through the center of the tubing.
One type of commonly used tubing is coiled tubing. Coiled tubing may be transported in rolls that are unrolled during deployment of the downhole system for relatively rapid and convenient deployment of the system, e.g. an electric submergible pumping system. For certain applications, a power cable is disposed in the center of the coiled tubing. by way of example, Reda of Bartlesville, Okla., a division of Schlumberger Corporation, manufactures REDACoil.TM., a product in which power cable is prepackaged within coiled tubing. Repairing or connecting lengths of coiled tubing with internal power cable can be difficult, particularly when the splice is made in the field.
Also, the coiled tubing and internal power cable generally are formed in the lengths necessary to accommodate deployment of the electric submergible pumping system to a desired location within a wellbore. However, extremely long lengths of tubing and power cable can be difficult to handle, and the equipment used to deploy downhole systems may be limited to a given length of tubing.
In certain applications, e.g. deep wells, and in certain situations in which the deployment tubing requires repair, it would be advantageous to have a connector system that permitted a relatively simple combination of independent segments of tubing, particularly coiled tubing having a combined power cable.